Ezra 9:8 And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. 9 For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage;
Most of the times you see the word "grace" in the Old Testament it is used as a synonym for favor and is followed by the words "in the eyes of..." where people found favor in God's eyes or in the eyes of a king or other individual. In Ezra we find one example of how favor is not only found...it is "shown". Grace with its origin in Heaven provides a way of escape, a path for help and an opportunity for another chance to find life as our Maker intended. Ezra is frustrated because the few who have survived 70 years of captivity in Babylon and Persia are coming back to Judah and falling into sin right away. He wants the people to realize that their freedom is not due to the grace of a Persian King to set them free, even though King Cyrus was the one who issued the order...but by the Grace of God, who is the ruler over every earthly king. If we consider our lives carefully we may see where the Grace of God has moved through the grace of men to provide the way of escape and new beginnings we also have needed, as we have come out of captivity. As we recognize that Grace we, like Ezra, should turn our face to God in the only proper response to Grace: gratitude. Gratitude has the same word origin as grace and so as we are shown Grace, we ought to reflect our grace. God's divine favor should meet with our appreciation and thanks, and ultimately our worship.
blessings,
Rob Smith
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